40 years apart, father and son wind up in same army unit
1st Warrant Officer (Retired) Oliveiro Edward, 58, and his son Third Sergeant Ricardo Oliveiro, 20. Oliveiro served full-time NS as an infantry trooper at 8 SIR and his son is serving NS in the same unit. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY
SINGAPORE — Retired First Warrant Officer (1WO) Oliveiro Edward, 58, used to serve as a signaller in the 8th Singapore Infantry Regiment (8 SIR) in the late 1970s. Forty years on, his son is now doing his full-time National Service (NS) in the same unit.
So the young man inevitably got a headstart from the military veteran living with him. He learnt to fold an army uniform, tie boot laces, and was shown the finer points of marching — all in the month or so before he enlisted last May.
The marching drills were done in their home, “from the room to the hall to the doorway”, to the amusement of the family, 1WO (Ret) Oliveiro recalled with a laugh.
He also remembered the dilemma that his son faced before enlistment, when deciding what to put on the nametag for his uniform.
“He asked me, ‘Dad, which name should I use: Your surname or my name?’ So I told him to use my surname… but he said, ‘You’re too well-known, popular in the SAF (Singapore Armed Forces), what if somebody tekan (punishes) me because of you?’,” 1WO (Ret) Oliveiro recounted, adding that his son was also concerned that others would “blame” his father for not teaching him well should he make mistakes.
“So, he decided to use his own name (Ricardo) instead.”
.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }Talking about his days as a full-time national serviceman in 8 SIR then, 1WO (Ret) Oliveiro said that he was housed on the fourth storey of Taman Jurong Camp, with the parade square and motor transport line across a main road.
Each time soldiers on standby were summoned, he would race down the building in his kit and dart across the road to the parade square for inspection.
In those days, soldiers also did “reverse training”, he said, which meant training at night and sleeping in the day.
More than five years after he completed his NS, he signed on as an army regular in 1985.
1WO (Ret) Oliveiro has worn many hats in the army, including being Wing Sergeant Major of the Advanced Specialist Training Wing, now the Specialist and Warrant Officer Advanced School, where he trained soldiers.
An expert in drills, he refreshed the SAF Drill Manual in 2007.
Much has changed over a generation. For 8 SIR, it has gone from being a conventional infantry unit to become an island defence unit now, focusing on the security of military camps.
His son, Third Sergeant (3SG) Ricardo Oliveiro, 20, takes charge of six guardrooms at camps in central Singapore as part of his duties with the unit. Lessons are conducted in the guardrooms and soldiers are trained in areas such as search and arrest, and knowledge of legal powers.
3SG Ricardo said: “The environment is different, as well as the operational requirements and the way people (respond to training)… Nowadays, we treat our guys with more compassion.”
However, his father said that the fundamentals of being a soldier have not changed. This includes fitness, the ability to shoot a weapon well, as well as discipline and showing care for other soldiers.
With the nature of threats and technology evolving, 1WO (Ret) Oliveiro, who retired from service in 2013 and is now the safety officer at the Specialist and Warrant Officer Institute, said that the SAF has had to “change and adapt to the times”.
Does 3SG Ricardo plan to follow in his father’s footsteps and build a career in the military? No, said the Ngee Ann Polytechnic business studies graduate and “aspiring coffee connoisseur”. He hopes to pursue the scientific study of coffee to improve the way the beverage is made.
“I’d rather create my own legacy,” he said.
